Gordon Cordeiro left a Hawaii courtroom Friday as a free man for the first time in three decades – exonerated by DNA evidence 30 years after being wrongfully convicted of murder.
Judge Kirstin Hamman vacated Cordeiro’s life sentence for drug deal-related homicide, citing police misconduct, fabricated witness testimonies about a fictional murder-for-hire scheme, and modern forensic science contradicting original verdicts. Emotional scene erupted when authorities abruptly cut the Zoom broadcast after announcing his release.
“He sobbed as the judge said those words. After two trials derailed by bad evidence, Gordon finally regained his faith in justice,” said Hawaii Innocence Project co-director Kenneth Lawson
Law enforcement’s 1994 case collapsed under scrutiny:
- Four jailhouse informants lied to secure reduced sentences
- No physical evidence linked Cordeiro to Maui “Skid Row” crime scene
- Modern DNA tests excluded him from biological material on victim Timothy Blaisdell
Meanwhile, defense team presented overlooked alibis:
Cordeiro was assembling shelves and car stereos with family when Blaisdell died. Prosecutors ignored this while pushing fiction about snitching-related retaliation plots from actual participant Michael Freitas.
Freitas – who died in 2020 – changed stories repeatedly after fleeing initial negotiations gone violent. Undisclosed gunshot residue analysis and foreign DNA in victim’s pockets further supported his innocence claims.